CHANDIGARH: After 33 years of service during which he resisted political pressure and served with integrity, leading to 57 transfers, Ashok Khemka, a 1991 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, retired on Wednesday from his last posting as Additional Chief Secretary (Transport), which he held for five months.
Khemka joined the bureaucracy after a degree in mathematics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, followed by a B.Tech in computer science and engineering from the IIT-Kharagpur, and a PhD in Computer Science from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. While in service, he also obtained an MA degree in economics from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), as well as a Bachelor of Law degree from Panjab University.
Khemka's transfers continued unabated irrespective of whether the Haryana government was led by the Congress, BJP or INLD. Averaging a transfer every seven months, his postings often reflected political discomfort with his uncompromising approach.
Between 2004 and 2014, during the Congress government headed by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, he was transferred more than 21 times. Later, in the BJP-led government from 2014 under Manohar Lal Khattar, he was transferred seven times in the first five years alone. Khemka was given low-profile postings in departments such as archives, archaeology, printing and stationery, prompting him to voice concerns about being sidelined.
In October 2022, when the Haryana government ignored his claim while promoting others to the secretary-rank, Khemka posted on X, "Congratulations to my batchmates newly appointed as Secretaries to GOI! While this is an occasion for merry, it brings equal measure of despondency for one’s own self having been left behind. Straight trees are always cut first. No regrets. With renewed resolve, I shall persist."
As Director General of Land Records and Consolidation in 2012, Khemka made national headlines when he cancelled the mutation of a controversial land deal between real estate giant DLF and a company owned by Robert Vadra, son-in-law of then Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He was immediately transferred by the then Congress government headed by Hooda.
In 2013, while serving as Managing Director of Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, Khemka exposed alleged irregularities in the purchase of fungicides and seeds, leading to another transfer.
In 2014, when the BJP came to power in the state, he was posted as Transport Commissioner but was again transferred as he decided not to issue fitness certificates to oversized trucks which led to a transport strike in January 2015. He had then tweeted, "60% of road accidents [are] due to overloaded and oversized transport vehicles... The choice is between road safety, protection of public property and environment on the one side, and private profits on the other."
On January 23, 2023, Khemka had written a letter to then Haryana Chief Minister Khattar offering to serve in the vigilance department to combat corruption. "Lopsided distribution of work does not serve public interest. Towards the end of my service career, I offer my services to head the vigilance department to root out corruption. If given an opportunity, I assure you there would be a real war against corruption and no one however high and mighty will be spared," the letter read.
He noted that some officers were overloaded while others, like himself, had postings with insufficient work. At the time, he was posted in the archives department. He served in this department four times as director general and later principal secretary, thrice during the tenure of BJP governments and once during Congress rule.
During his brief tenure at the Haryana Staff Selection Commission, Khemka had flagged potential irregularities in recruitment processes, which resulted in another transfer.
A book titled Just Transferred: The Untold Story of Ashok Khemka by Bhavdeep Kang and Namita Kala, published in 2020, chronicles Khemka's turbulent journey.